Denny’s Growth Is Tied to Modernizing its Stores


Skift Take

There is a lot of truth to the notion that franchisees can run stores better than companies. Denny's, similar to its market competitors, is now banking on this strategy for future growth.

Denny’s plans to refranchise nearly all of its company-owned stores by the middle of 2020, in efforts to create a more low-risk business model, the chain said on its fourth-quarter earnings call, Tuesday. Ten restaurants have already been sold to franchisees, including two in the first quarter of 2019, according to President and CEO John Miller. “We are very pleased with interest from the franchise community and excited by the shareholder value this strategy will create,” Miller told a